Buckeyes begin new era under head coach Ed Beathea and associate head coach Brice Allen

Ohio State Head Coach, 2012-14

Ed Beathea became the head coach of the Ohio State men's track and field/cross country team on June 21, 2012. Prior to his appointment, Beathea served as associate head coach from 2006-12, including interim head coach duties in spring 2012.

In his first full season as head coach of the program, Beathea led the Buckeyes to a 21st-place finish at the 2013 NCAA outdoor championships, their best finish since 2004. Under his guidance OSU sent 11 student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships which was the most for the team in over 15 years.

Beathea oversaw the 4x100m and 4x400m teams that advanced to the championships as well as junior Demoye Bogle (110m hurdles), and sophomores Antonio Blanks (400m hurdles) and Timothy Faust (200m). Bogle earned Second Team All-America honors at the 2013 Indoor Championships and Faust was the Big Ten champion in the indoor 200m.

"After a national search, Ed emerged as the search committee's selection to be the next head coach," T.J. Shelton, associate athletics director for sport administration, said. "I first want to thank Ed for serving as interim coach during the spring. Under his leadership, the team had some outstanding performances at the Big Ten and NCAA championships. Further, Ed articulated a vision committed to the overall development of our student-athletes in the classroom, in competition and in the community. With support from alumni, current team members and a highly-ranked recruiting class, Ed has the intangibles to compete for conference championships and national prominence."

"I am excited and ready to continue to lead this Buckeye team," Beathea said. "I have a great group of guys that are very motivated. I truly appreciate the opportunity Gene Smith, T.J. Shelton and the athletic department are providing me."

Serving as interim head coach during 2012 outdoor season, Beathea led the Buckeyes to a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten outdoor championships with 86 team points. A total of 21 athletes qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries with 10 advancing to the NCAA championships. Three Buckeyes -- senior Matt DeChant (shot put), junior Cory Leslie (3000-meter steeplechase) and true freshman Antonio Blanks (400-meter hurdles) -- were First Team All-Americans.

In his six years as an assistant in Columbus, Beathea, the 2010 and 2011 Great Lakes Assistant Coach of the Year, instructed the Buckeye sprinters and hurdlers, as well as athletes competing in the horizontal jumps. He mentored Ohio State athletes in his event areas to 10 individual Big Ten titles while also building the Buckeye 4x400-meter relay team into a Midwestern juggernaut that won five Big Ten titles in a row from 2008-2010and qualified for multiple NCAA championship appearances. Beathea also directed all of the team's community outreach efforts.

Beathea's greatest accomplish in his time with the Buckeyes has been his work with All-Americans Thomas Murdaugh and Michael Hartfield. A relative unknown out of high school, Murdaugh, a four-time first team All-American, became one of the premier sprinters in the country thanks in large part to his training with Beathea, capturing a total of nine Big Ten titles and two USTFCCCA Great Lakes Track Athlete of the Year awards, as well as Big Ten Track Athlete of Year and Athlete of the Indoor Championship honors as a sophomore in 2010. Hartfield, a four-time All-American, enjoyed three outstanding seasons with the Buckeyes after transferring from Rend Lake Junior College, earning four Big Ten titles in the long jump and one triple jump title to go along with USTFCCCA and Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year honors during the 2011 outdoor season.

Prior to joining the Buckeye coaching staff in 2006, Beathea spent 10 seasons coaching sprints and hurdles at Indiana, the last four years as associate head coach. In his decade with the Hoosiers, Beathea coached 32 Big Ten sprint and hurdle champions, 28 All-Americans and two NCAA runner-ups. He gained national attention for his work with sprinters David Neville - a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games - and Rachelle (Boone) Smith, the 2006 USA outdoor champion in the 200-meter dash, while also building his reputation as an excellent relay coach. Under his leadership, the women's sprint relay squad made conference history by becoming the first Big Ten relay team to win the league title and earn All-America recognition for four consecutive years (2001-05).

Coach Beathea spent two years at Northern Arizona University before to his arrival at Indiana, assisting with the sprinters, horizontal jumpers and men's and women's cross country squads. His time in Flagstaff came on the heels of a successful collegiate career at Ball State, where he holds school records in the 400-meter dash (indoor) and 4x400-meter relay.

Beathea graduated with a bachelor's degree from BSU in 1992 and earned his master's in sports administration while serving as a graduate assistant for the Cardinals in 1994.

A native of Elkhart, Ind., Ed and his wife, Kim, have two daughters, Sarah and Abby.